Nursing bottle



April 1 H. c. REESE Er AL 1 NURSING BOTTLE Filed July 15, 1933 11 9111 61 Z alZ [bi/0,2055%;

[502 22; fizz/[$12 ffeese AWE Patented Apr. V 30, 1935 EgS I ATENT }oFFicE NURSING Bo'r'rna lieath Cortland Reese and Charles Newton Reese, Wilmette, Iil., assignors to Barnett & Truman,

a dim composed of Otto It. Barnett and. Peroival H. Truman, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 13, 1933, Serial No. 680,214

'1 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in nursing bottles and has for its principal object "the provision of improved means for admitting air into a nursing bottle so as to maintain substantially atmospheric pressure therein at all times during the withdrawal of the liquid contents from the bottle. a V

A more specific object is to provide a nursing bottle having an air vent port therein and a valve for opening and closing said port in response to the withdrawal of liquid from the bottle, both said vent port and said valve being so formed as to facilitate thorough cleansing of the parts.

Another specific object is to provide a nursing bottle with an air vent port and a resilient valve therefor which may be readily and conveniently inserted in or removed from said portand which when in its applied position will provide an emcient seal against leaking of milk or other liquid from the bottle.

Another object is to provide a vent valve for a nursing bottle which will operate automatically to admit air into the bottle during the withdrawal of liquid therefrom and thereby avoid collapsing of the nipple and which may be also manually operated to permit controlled amounts of liqiud to flow by gravity through the nipple, thereby providing a simple and emcient means for feeding infants who are too weak or disinclined to withdraw the liquid from the bottle.

Further objects will be apparent from the detailed description of the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a nursing bottle embodying the improvements of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the nursing bottle shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the bottle adjacent the air vent port and illustrating a pressure actuated valve for closing said port; said valve being illustrated in its open position in this figure; and

Fig. i is a view in perspective of the valve structure employed herein for opening and. closing the air vent port of the nursing bottle.

The invention contemplates the use of various forms of bottles or other containers provided with stem portion of the valve.

insofar as the present invention is concerned.

Obviously, any suitable form of nipplemay be.

used. The body portion of the bottle is preferably, but not necessarily, formed with one or more flat sides l5 and is provided also with an air vent opening it. This opening is relativelylarge so as to facilitate thorough cleansing and sterilizing of the bottle. Said opening is preferably of such size as to permit the insertion of a brush or other cleaning implement when washing the bottle.

The vent opening it is closed by a valve fli adapted to seat against the inner surface of the bottle. Thevalve is made of resilient material, preferably soft rubber; so that it may be readily inserted through the opening it to its operative position and so that it will conform to the contour of the inner surface of the bottle. In the present instancethe valve is formed to present a substantially cone shaped configuration in cross section. The valve is made of minimum thickness at Il'i its central annular portion and increases in thickness toward its edge and terminates in an upstanding rib it which extends around the edge portion of the valve and seats against the inner wall of the bottle. This construction provides the desired resilience to permit the valve to be easily applied or removed from the bottle and at the same time insures proper seating of the rib it against the inner face of the bottle. The decreased thickness of the valve at its central annular portion ll also decreases the resistance in unseating the rib portion it of the valve and consequently renders the valve more sensitive to an air pressure differential between the inside and outside of the bottle. The valve, it will be seen from the drawing, is somewhat larger than the vent opening it in the bottle so that the valve, even though it be arranged eccentric to the axis or the opening, will completely close said opening.

It is preferably made of resilient material and is formed integrally with the valve. A cup-shaped member 20, which is also preferably resilient, is formed integrally with the upper end of the valve stem, and supports the valve in its proper position. The said cupshaped supporting member it is adapted to conform to the outer wall of the bottle Ml which, in the present instance, is flat. An air passage 25 is formed in the supporting cup member it so as to permit the external air to pass through the opening it into the interior of the bottle when the valve ill or any part thereof is moved away from the inner wall of the bottle.

The upper edge of the rib it of the valve is so ill designates the L positioned relative to the lower edgeof the cup- .shaped member 20 that these parts are spread apart slightly when the valve is in its normal applied position. Consequently, the resilience of the valve structure as a. whole holds the rib 18 of the valve against the inner wall of the bottle to prevent leakage at this point when the bottle is so positioned that the level of the milk or other liquid contained therein is above or in contact with the valve. y

In operation, a resilient valve is inserted through the vent opening so as to seat against the inner wall of the bottle as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The bottle is then sterilized and filled with the desired liquid and the nipple is applied. The valve I! being held in its closed position by the resilience of the material of thevalve and associated parts will prevent any of the liquid leaking through the valve or through the nipple.

During the withdrawal of liquid from thebottle, for example by a nursing infant, the diiference in the internal and external" air pressure will be sufficient to cause the-valve to yield and thereby automatically admit sufficient air into the bottle to compensate for the amount of liquid withdrawn. The air. pressure within the bottle is therefore maintained at a point substantially equal to the external pressure at all times during the feeding of the infant. This condition insures a free flowing of the liquid through the nipple and avoids any collapse of the nipple during the feeding of the infant.

In some instances, for example when the infant is too weak or disinclined to withdraw the milk or other liquid from the bottle, the milk can be discharged from the bottle in proper quantities to suit the feeding of the infant, the said discharge being controlled by manual operation of the valve. By pressing downwardly on the upper portion of the cup-shaped support 20, the valve I? may be moved away from the inner surface of the bottle as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. In this event the air at atmospheric pressure is admitted to the bottle and thereby permits the fluid in the bottle to discharge freely from the usual apertures in the. nipple. As soon as the valve is permitted to close the discharge of liquid is interrupted. It will be seen therefore that this manual control of the discharge of liquid from the bottle can be regulated in accordance with the amount of liquid required by the infant.

When it is desired to wash the bottle the nipple I4 and the vent valve structure are removed from the bottle. The vent valve structure being a unitary construction of flexible material can be readily washed and thoroughly sterilized before it is again applied to the bottle. If desired, the valve and bottle may be thoroughly sterilized after the valve has been inserted in the opening l6 of the bottle.

Although we have herein shown and described what we now consider a preferred form of valve structure and nursing bottle, it will be apparent that the constructions illustrated may be varied or modified without departure from the spirit of this invention. It will be understood therefore that the present invention contemplates all such changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

We claim:

1. .In combination with a nursing bottle having a discharge opening and an air vent in the wall of the bottle, a unitary, valve structure comprising a flexible valve of larger diameter than said vent opening, but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, said valve being adapted to seat on the inner surface of said bottle and to open when the air pressure within the bottle becomes substantially less than atmospheric pressure, a valve stem adapted to project loosely through said vent leaving space therein for the passage of air therethrough, and a resilient supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the .bottle normally to hold said valve in a closedposition but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same.

2. In combination with a nursing bottle having a discharge opening and an air vent opening in the wall of the bottle, a unitary valve structure comprising a flexible cup shaped valve of larger diameter than the vent opening but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, the outer edge of the said cup shaped valve being adapted to seat on the inner surface of the bottle normally to close the vent opening and to open responsive to an increased proportion of outside to inside air pressure, a valve stem adapted to project loosely through said vent leaving space therein for the passage of air therethrough, and a resilient supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the bottle normally to hold said valve in a closed position but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat same.

3. In combination with a nursing'bottle having a discharge opening and an air vent opening in the wall of the bottle, a unitary valve structure comprising a flexible cup shaped valve of larger diameter than the vent opening but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, the outer edge of the said cup shaped valve being adapted to seat on the inner surface of the bottle to close the vent opening and to open the same responsive to an increased portion of outside to inside air pressure, a valve stem adapted to project loosely through said vent, leaving space therein for the passage of air therethrough,:md a cup shaped supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the bottle normally to hold said valve in a closed position, butyieldlng to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same, said supporting member being formed with an opening to provide an air passage to said air vent.

4. In combination with a nursing bottle having a. discharge opening and an air vent opening in the wall of the bottle, a one piece valve structure formed of resilient material, said valve structure comprising a valve of larger diameter than the vent opening but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, the outer portion of said valve being adapted to seat on the inner surface of the bottle and the central annular portion of said valve being of decreased thickness to facilitate the unseating of the valve when the air pressure within the bottle becomes substantially less than atmospheric pressure, a valve stem adapted to project loosely through said vent opening to leave an air passage therein, and a resilient supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the bottle normally to hold said valve in a closed position but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same, said supporting member being formed with an opening to provide an air passage to said air vent.

5. In combination with a nursing bottle having a discharge opening and an air vent opening in the wall of a bottle, a one piece valve structure formed of resilient material, said valve structure comprising a cup shaped valve of larger diameter than the vent opening but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough. the outer edges of said cup shaped valvebeing adapted to seat on the inner surface of the bottle normally to close the vent opening but adapted to open the same responsive to an increased proportion of outside to inside air pressure, and the central annular portion of said cup shaped valve being of decreased thickness, a valve stemprojecting loosely through said vent opening to leave an air passage therethrough, and a resilient supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the bottle normally to hold said valve in a closed position, but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same, said supporting member being formed with an opening to provide an air passage to said air vent.

6. In combination with a nursing bottle having a discharge opening and an air vent opening in the wall of the bottle, a one piece valve structure formed of resilient material, said valve structure comprising a cup shaped valve of larger diameter than the vent opening but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, the outer edges of said cup shaped valve being adapted to seat on the inner surface of the bottle to close the vent opening and to open responsive to an increased proportion of outside to inside air pressure, and the central annular portion of said cup shaped valve being of decreased thickness, a valve stem projecting loosely through said vent opening to leave an air passage therethrough, and a. cup shaped supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of a bottle normally to hold said valve in a closed position but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same, said supporting member being formed with an opening to provide an air passage to said vent.

'7. A one piece valve formed of rubber and adapted to control the passage of air through an air vent in a container to maintain substantially atmospheric pressure in said container as the contents are withdrawn therefrom, said valve structure comprising a cup shaped valve of larger diameter than the air vent but adapted to be readily inserted and withdrawn therethrough, the outer edges of said cup shaped valve member being adapted to seat on the inner surface of the container normally to close the air vent but to open the same when the air pressure within the container falls substantially below atmospheric pressure, a valve stem adapted to project loosely through said air vent opening to leave an air passage therethrough, and a cup shaped supporting member adapted to engage the outer surface of the container normally to hold said valve in a closed position but yielding to slight manual pressure toward said valve to unseat the same.

, HEATH CORTLAND REESE. -CHARLES NEWTON REESE. 

